Dig in and hold on

The last several months has been a whirl wind of learning, sometimes by getting it right and other times by my failures. One thing that I am starting to figure out is when something great in your life happens dig in. I'm not talking about receiving a new gift, that promotion, job, or when life just seems like smooth sailing. What i really am talking about is when you step up, step out, reach new heights and truly are a part of something great Kingdom advancement. Dig in, strap yourself down, hold on tight because the storm is coming. How we handle that kind of pressure, adversity and attack is really what will define what kind of threat we will be . Hunker down lean into God like never before. Every time we step out and experience God's desire for our heart in a new way, we expose ourselves to a whole nether level of threats to our spiritual life. your perspective will be rocked, those places you turn for comfort and stability will be shaken. You must stand firm in what you know is true and that is the word of God, that alone is your Truth, everything else can be stripped away. When we face these kinds of storms we should be honored and overjoyed. If that seems crazy to you that is because it is. The reality is that is the life we were chosen for, this is the life we accepted and signed up for. No one ever said it would be easy in fact throughout the scriptures we see it is extremely hard sometimes to the extent of literal death. We must make that decision to die to our self, our selfish desires, in order to have true life that God desires for us to experience.  With that comes true sacrifice your normal life is gone. Those places of flesh you used to find comfort in our stripped away. Sometimes you may feel alone overwhelmed  and outmatched but God never allows anything to come before us that we cannot handle through him. So board up your windows, strap down your belongings and hunker down because that storm is just around the corner. When it comes be joyful because you are living a life that is a threat to the evil in this world.

Defense wins championships

So many of us have the desire to become great. We work so hard at stepping forward and running with our strengths, but how many of us think about our weaknesses? Isn't it true that when your attacked it is usually at your weakest point? Maybe that is the real question? How many of us think that we are in a war daily? There is no question about it, Good vs Evil, The dominion of hell vs heaven, it is as real as you and me.  Many of us agree there is a heaven so naturally wouldn't there be a hell. Throughout the bible it talks about how God is fighting for us and saving us, but from what. When you step into what God has planned for your life and you make the personal commitment to follow Christ, you just signed up to be a member of the greatest battle in history. The battle for souls. Why is any of this important you ask? Well if there is a battle, shouldn't we be prepared? John 10:10 tells us that "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy...". That thief is Satan. His objective, to keep as many souls as he can from entering heaven. How does that affect us? Well isn't that our main goal, to bring people to see the Glory of God through his son Jesus Christ? If the answer to that question is yes then we must be prepared, we must know where Satan will attack us. Just like any fortress he will attack at our weaknesses.  He will use four main tools to do so deception, darkness, destruction, and division. Satan will find those places that we have been hurt the most, where we are emotionally vulnerable and he will lie to us, attack us and try to take away our worth. He will try to deceive you and twist the Truth in your life so you walk away from the power that God has for you in every situation. He will try to twist those situations in our lives where we face persecution and trials into a dark, dark places so we give up in those times. Then he will attack all those places in our lives where we turn to our other soldiers, our friends, our warriors in Christ and he will create division.  The bottom line is anything that is good, holy, true and pure, evil is coming after it and hard. We must know our weaknesses. We must know where we struggle and we must protect those places. How do we do that? First we must protect ourselves with truth through scripture truth about who God says that we are in HIM. Then we must continue to grow in those places and be intentional about strengthening and protecting the places in our lives, in our hearts that we are most vulnerable.  Have you ever heard the saying "You are only as strong as your weakest link"? I think that applies in our spiritual life as well. The beauty of it all is that God can still use those areas of weaknesses in our lives and turn it to greatness. It would be naive and foolish though to not step forward and protect our lives, protect what God wants to do through us.. Our goal is to win hearts and to win souls, but we can only do that if we are prepared and Ready.  Where are your weaknesses?

Love is a Verb

Lately  I have been trying to redefine what love looks like in my life. I still have a long way to go but I have came to one conclusion Love takes action. I 100 percent believe that you cannot love and be passive, if something burdens you, true love takes action. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love (John 4:8) God is love therefore we will carry his burdens and what burdens his heart if we are in tune with the spirit, will burden our heart. God also tells us that one of the greatest commandments is to love your neighbor as yourself. (Mathew 22:39) What does that look like? That is up for debate I think every situation is different, but i know it takes action. It may be as simple as praying for them and their burdens. IT could be that you provide them with some sort of service that they are in need of. What if it was as simple as just coming along side them and letting them know you are there with them when they are walking out life. Maybe today is the day you fight for them, stand up for them in places they are not able to at the moment. So as I redefine love in my life and want to love the Lord my God with all my heart, I have discovered to do that I must take action. We cannot Love our Lord and be obedient without fighting for those things. We do not get o pick and choose what of his burdens we want to fight for one way or another we are all responsible to provide in those areas. Will you LOVE?

Blinded by the light

The other day I sat on the roof of a house in midst of below thirty degrees and was just engulfed by sunshine. I heard a song by Manfred Mann's Earth band, Blinded by the light, the lyrics go something like this Blinded by the light, revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night Blinded by the light. The lyrics and the sunshine turned the wheel of thought for me. In the coldest of times sunshine makes the world of difference. I also realized that at some point in time we all come across the light. A special occurrence happens a define event. "We just get it" the "ahha" moment whatever you would like to call it. For some of us it happened years after "knowing" God. For others it may have been their first and only encounter with the thought or idea of God. Regardless wherever you are at in the process in the Story. that moment must occur for all us. For Paul who was known as Saul it happened after years of being religious. Not only was he religious he was one of the most educated in the law, in religion at that present time. He was so engulfed in  his "religion" that he was responsible for the first murder or martyr of a "Christ follower:". But then something happened there was an encounter with God. He was on a path and God spoke to him and the bible goes on to say he was blinded by the light. Something happened after that although he was blind he finally could see. He got it he understood its not about religion its not about doctrine its about God, The Great I am. The one that sent his son to die on the cross to bare our sins, so that three days later he would  rise again and conquer the gates of hell. So that we may have eternal life. Everyday some of us see the light whether its in the way that others live. You see it you know they have something different, they just "get it". You desire to have what they have. Move towards the light step forward. Take a step Seek those people out find what their light is. Jesus is the way Jesus is the answer. Not knowledge but belief faith. Knowing their is a God and believing there is a God is so close but so different. Belief changes you once you cross the line you are never the same again. Your heart will guide you to those things and knowledge will come with that. Take the first step beleive accept it. You are lost and you can be found. For some of us we are like Paul we have stepped into church our entire lives. We may even read the bible Do all the right things say all the right things but somewhere along the way we forgot to make it personal. We did not make God the ruler of our story the author of our faith. It is something intimate something real something alive that never stops growing. So I ask you have you been blinded by the light? So that you walk by faith not by sight?

Dream big

With new years coming around the corner I thought I would write a little bit about what I would love to see in 2012. First off dream big! I wonder how many of us truly Dream Big? We sit back set goals that we think we can reach with little to no resistance. Enough!!! Stretch yourself, Dream Big, Reach for the impossible. I know in my personal life things I would like to accomplish is to conquer some of the areas of my old sinful patterns. I know there is no longer any condemnation, but there are times I still turn to those things. I want to continue to radically step out in obedience in ways I never dreamed were possible. I would also in the next year like to be responsible for bringing 25 new people to church that come on a continual basis, I want to expand our community and push others to do the same. I am going to step up in a new way as far as community outreach, I am going to make it a priority to spend my time serving others in the community. Set the example and others will follow. I am going to invest in lives one on one and in a small group setting to push and stretch them to take their lives to new heights. I am going to cultivate leaders in our youth that understand and believe that they are prodigies. True revival starts with them. They are our future. They will be a light in our school and our community. I want to live a life that is so LOUD  that others cannot ignore it. Especially those in our Church community, true revival does not happen unless we all play our part. Each and every one of us are called to be a part of Gods Story. Gods Story is never small and never quiet. Will we take part in those things? I want to help carry the burdens in my "Community" and strike a sense of urgency in the hearts of others to do the same. I want to LEAD by example let my life do the talking.  I want to learn how to Love in a new way Love is a verb and takes action, it is not quiet it is not passive.  2012 ya I have big plans for you, to sum it up, Bold, Radical, March Forward, Be intentional!

who am i?

This is probably more then overdue, but hey that is how i work. I want to give you a glimpse on how i roll. I am a married man who works construction and coaches wrestling. I love me some hip hop music, dancing, sports and Jesus!! and i cannot get enough of being around my friends especially in coffee shops.  I'm go go go all the time. You don't believe me ahahaha it's true it's true. Even on the bad days I'm an absolute spit fire. In fact i am probably over the top., I take that back i am over the top. I always throw myself at my passions and my desires 100 percent, I do not know any other way. I am blunt tell you my opinion and back it with truth, most don't like it but some come to love it. My heart is huge and those close to me i would walk through fire for them . The closer i am to you the harder i push the more blunt i am and the bolder i become.  I have been a blessed man my entire life great family, great friends, great church, well great life. But something happened to me late August and my life got turned upside down. there really is no other way to explain it, but in an amazing way. My life well my life became audacious. My thoughts have been consumed by :Marching Forward, Radical obedience, Advancing the Kingdom#followerofrchrist. I literally cannot get enough of it, it consumes me even on the bad days or the days i struggle. All i can think about is how i can get myself back up and go at it again, Round 2. That's what it is all about boldness in love and being BIG for JESUS.  I am constantly sharing my thoughts and what has gotten me fired up that day; through texts, emails, facebook and twitter. I am sure some find it annoying and ya its gotten me in trouble at times but to be quite honest i cannot have it any other way. It is constantly running through my head non stop, it pumps me up im always jacked up like i have consumed far to many energy drinks but I'm passionate what can i say. I have finally gotten a glimpse of the "real" life,  Striving towards perfection reaching for the stars, Making the sun stand still. When we start to strive for the impossible and reach for the unreachable and become consumed by the passion of Christ it takes over your body. Then there is no going back everything you do pushes toward that final goal to advance his kingdom. So to some it all up. I am a nerd, a jock, a cowboy, a thug, a lover, a fighter, a creator, a warrior a champion, a loser, i am weird and redefining how our life should be lived. I dare you to step up and do the same!

All I want for christmas is you!

Today I was sitting in the coffee shop and the song "All I want for Christmas is you" came on, the Mariah Carey version of course which I love, but anyways it got my mind going. This Christmas season already has been unlike any other in the past. The All I want for Christmas is you just kept running through my head over and over. It was so true in my life, All I wanted was to serve MY JESUS. That is exactly why this Christmas season has been so much different, I have taken my eyes off myself and looked outward. My life is so full of JOY right now it is ridiculous. Having the opportunity to get gifts for little girls that are not as fortunate as me has been one of the most enjoyable things I have experience in a long time. I also had the opportunity to go shopping for a Crisis Nursery with four of the coolest, kindest, inspiring girls I have ever met. What a privilege that was. When we take our eyes off ourselves and become consumed with Jesus, amazing happens, lives are changed. There is also this thought about being intentional about being personal. When you really think about it, it is pretty logical. How many of us really do it. Small things with the right thoughts are bigger then anything else. A mug and a cup of coffee quickly turns into a thought out process of love. That is power! So Ya Christmas has not been stressful or ridiculously busy this year, it has been enjoyable and "time consuming" but there is a difference, one has a purpose, that is to advance the kingdom. Business is to satisfy yourself and the others around you, which ultimately leads back to selfishness! Who or what will you serve this Christmas? Me, All i want for Christmas is YOU, JESUS!

On the way to perfect the impossible happens

This past week I have absolutely been consumed with the idea of perfection, holiness, and setting ourselves apart. Some call it arrogance, others call it impossible. I call it the way god designed us. Do I ever think I will reach perfection here on earth, absolutely not. If you set your bar so high so impossible, along the way wont the impossible happen? Will it be easy heck no it wont, otherwise why would it be called setting yourself apart. This means we will be going against the grain and the currents of the world. We must fight the resistance. God calls us to it, 1 peter 1:15 says "But just as he who called you is holy, so be Holy in all you do. Be holy for i am Holy."  The Lord calls us to it, He out of love demands us to reach for the impossible.  So what does that look like? I am not even sure i can totally grasp this concept, but i think slowly i am starting to get it. What if we challenged ourselves to memorize two entire books of the bible this year, we probably would fall short but wouldn't we  have several chapters memorized? What if we tried to commit an hour of prayer every single day? You might  fall short but wouldn't you pray more often then you originally did? What if our churches challenged themselves two double or even triple in size over the next year? It probably does not happen but wouldn't the church get bigger and more people hear his promises? What if we had that kind of desperation and longing for the impossible in every aspect of our life? Holiness is not something we can obtain on our own. Holiness is not a work of our flesh, but a product of Gods grace. Paul tells us in Ephesians that we have "every spirtiual blessing in Christ". Holiness is something we can obtain, through God we have the power to obtain these things.  We are not failures for not reaching perfection or reaching those goals we set that are high and nearly impossible. The reality is we are stepping into uncharted territory of our lives and our churches. God wants to take us to the Promise Land. Will we follow? How high will you set the bar in your life?

Not by sight

What is faith? I know most of you if I asked that question within just seconds you would have an answer, a darn good one at that. We know what to say we know all the right words, the right things but does our heart believe it? 2nd Corinthians 5:7 says "For we live by faith, not by sight." How many of us as we are reading this are anxious, fearful or stressed about something? So many people have sleepless nights or have depression and things like that. It is not a stretch to say that fear drives so much of our society. Did you know that the command given most in the bible is fear not? God knew we would struggle here and it is still very much alive and relevant today. God calls us to look forward and move forward, even if we do not understand what is about to come. 2nd Corinthians 4:18 says "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." Sometimes this is so hard to grasp. I believe to often we think faith is something that will just happen. We just sit back and hope that it happens. We need to STAND up and fight for those things unseen, as we press forward the heart and the belief will come. The true treasures lay in what we cannot see and what we do not know. Romans 8:24 says "For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no longer hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?" Isn't that what it is all about? Having hope in a broken rundown world, a world full of unknowns and uncertainties? If we had all the answers and new the whole story we could do everything on our own. Where is the Glory in that? God wants us to lean on him, trust him, so that we can bring him Glory and in the process advance his kingdom. Where does your hope lay?

The unknown

I am sitting on a bus on the way to wrestling, pondering my past week. I started to think about all the unknowns in my life, it actually became quite overwhelming. Then I started to think to myself what, in this life, is not unknown? It all started a couple weeks ago when I began to notice some changes in my physical body, freequent urination, unexpected weightloss as well as other things. So naturally I went to the doctor. I was at ease knowing I soon would find out what was wrong with me, or so I thought. We were pretty sure it was an infection, but as a formality we were going to do some tests anyways. Results came back, no infection. I then got blood drawn I was excited to get the results back, nervous, but none the less excited, results were coming. Nothing! It all checked out. So now I sit anxiously wondering, pondering the unknown. Psalm 46:1 says "God is our refuge and strength an ever present help in trouble." What if all God wants is for me to truly rely on Him? Not on the things of this world. Not on the doctors, medicines, therapies, friends, bosses or even parents. I am not saying disreguard those things, that would be foolish, but just not rely on them. God puts all of those things in our lives to continue to better ourselves and our community. A life with those things as your foundation is simply destructive. Provers 25:12 tells us that anxiety weighs down the heart. Why carry that burden? Is there really anything that is known to us, other than the truths that the Lord sets before us? Where will we put our trust?

Radical discipleship

     Lead and they will follow. What if we truly lived a life worth following? Is there any better goal in life to strive for? Some of you must think I am crazy. Just think for a minute, What if you could say live as I am living. Some of you may feel like your not called to lead, I think thats a copout. Mathew 5:19 says "but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven."(N.I.V)  Whoever, now thats a word that does not leave anybody out. We are all called to lead!  Hebrews 10:24-25 calls us to "spur one another on in love and good deeds, and not give up meeting with one another...". God wants us to rub off on the ones around us. How do we do that? The scriptures are God breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in rightousness.(2nd Timonthy 3:16)  To be radical we must educate ourselves on where the bible calls us to obedience and shows us Gods promises. Even in our sins and disobedience we can lead, ask for forgiveness, repent, move forward, and press on.  John 8:31-32 says "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." As we do this we will step forward in a life that cannot be denied or ignored. Mathew 5 calls us the light of the world and a city on a hill. Imagine that road trip, where you have been in hours of darkness no citys no towns, then up over the hill you see it the city. The city wrapped in its beauty, shining alone, its breathtaking. You all know what i am talking about. Will you be that light? Will you live a life worth living, better yet a life worth following?

Love is obedience

    Many of us have pondered what it looks like to passionately love Jesus. We have questioned how is it possible to, "Love the Lord with all our heart, soul and mind." or if that is even possible? What does a life that loves Jesus look like? Simply put obedience. Some of you are thinking surely it cannot be that simple. I am saying what if it is? No, I am saying it is that simple. God calls us to obedience. John 14:15 says, "If you love me, you will obey what I command." (N.I.V) So where do we start? John 1:1 says "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."(N.I.V.) Is there a better place to start then the Word of God? We must start being intentional about knowing and educating ourselves on what God calls us to. Proverbs says "My son do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart." Knowledge is power. Paul, in 2nd Timothy 3:16-17 says "All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. So that the man of God may be equipped for every good work." If we are obedient to what the "Word of God" calls us to, do we need anything else? I am not saying we will live perfect lives, God knows I do not, we will screw up, and we will fall flat on our faces in disobedience. The only thing we can do then is repent and ask for forgiveness. We must move on and march forward. What if it is that simple? I know it will not be easy. What if we were intentional every single day that the Lord has blessed us with to be radically obedient? What if we strive for perfection? I know we will fall short, but along the way we will become great. Will you Love your Jesus?

You have it, He"ll use it

  God is a God of miracles. What God is not is a magician. He is not a God that will just snap his fingers and everything is "fixed". I am not saying that he is not capable of those things, that is just not how our God works. God chooses to use us, as tools, as vessels, to bring glory to His name. How often do we cry out for miracles and expect the source to come from afar, to come from somewhere else? God uses what we already have. So right now you are probably thinking that I am crazy. Just take a moment to think of some of the miracles throughout the bible. Almost always God used what they already had, but first they had to offer it up to Him and allow it to be used by Him.
  Look at the story of David and Goliath, God used the skills that David had learned from shepherding and guarding his flock to slay Goliath. Goliath would have never been slain if David was not willing to step up and fight and use the skills he already had. Jesus feeds the five thousand; one boy, one meal and one desire to give what he had to Jesus. God didn't go to an outside source he used the meal that was already there. Moses also often saw many miracles performed out of his own staff. The next time you are crying out to God to see a miracle: in your life, your church, your youth group, your family or your community, ask yourself, what do you have to offer. What could you give up to OUR Lord? God only needs what you have, but first you must be willing to give it to him.

redefining belief

 We have all heard it a thousand times "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever beleives in him shall not perish but have eternal life" John 3:16. Simple right? It is straight forward believe and you are saved. Ya it is simple and  it is straight forward why waste a blog on it. What if we miss the mark on what it means to beleive something? Can you truly believe something and not be changed?   iI am afraid this generation of not only youth but of our church has compartmentalized  our faith. I beleive in God that is enough, this person beleives in Jesus thats okayand I have the Spirit in me i am fine.  The bible just isnt for me but I beleive in god.  It is a recipe, one that you dont get to choose what ingredients you want to put in it and which ones you would rather leave out.  John 1:1 says "in the beginning was the word, the word was with god and the word was God. The bible is God, why is that important?  In webester dictionary if you look up the word beleive it says to accept it as real or truth. If you beleive God, you believe the bible. If you accept the bible as real and true you educate yourself on what it says and it has power in your life. You simply cannot let something be deemed real in your life and it not bring about change. Beleif brings about change. What this verse does not say is If you believe there is A God. No what this verse says is if you beleive in him who is part of the trinity. God, Jesus, Holy Spirit and yes this means bible must be truth, and it must have power in your life. You do not get to pick  what parts you want to beleive. You are either in or your out 100 percent or not at all. So what do you believe?